


Staircase

by Jackolidus



Series: Justin and Justin [8]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Blindness, Outer Space, Sci-Fi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:22:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29317044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jackolidus/pseuds/Jackolidus
Summary: i've been reading again. three stephen kings since like saturday. on a roll.
Series: Justin and Justin [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2114421
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	Staircase

**Author's Note:**

> i've been reading again. three stephen kings since like saturday. on a roll.

Justin didn’t bother asking where they were going, he just let Matt lead him through the busy streets and tried to absorb as much as possible. 

The road seemed to be made of metal grating and there were no vehicles anywhere, it was all pedestrians. And there were so many different varieties. As Justin looked around, he noticed all of the different colors and shapes that the people had. He could barely make out details, but not for lack of trying. Every single person he laid eyes on was so complex and new and interesting. 

The roads were bordered by huge buildings, most of which were shopping or housing complexes. Justin got the feeling that the people who lived here were used to being housed like sardines. It seemed like a very crowded place. 

Matt suddenly took a turn down an alleyway that separated them from the people and put them in a much darker, much quieter setting. Justin could hear steam hissing from somewhere, and there were loud footprints everywhere. 

“Can you see well enough back here to let go of my shoulder?” Matt asked, keeping his voice low. 

Justin could follow Matt without touching him. Now that the people were mostly gone and it was quieter, he felt confident that he wouldn’t get lost. He took his hand away. 

They kept walking. Justin noted a silent bar with a huge broken window, an empty apartment with a fire burning in the middle, and a few clusters of people, whispering to each other and keeping Matt and Justin in their line of sight. 

Justin kept his mouth shut but he was pretty creeped out. 

Matt kept walking, Justin kept following, until they’d arrived at an apartment block. And Justin followed Matt up a few floors. 

They stopped at a landing and Matt knocked on the only door. He waited for a few seconds, and knocked again when no one answered. This didn’t seem to sway Matt at all. Instead of knocking again or walking away, Matt reached out and opened the door. 

Justin was surprised to see that, instead of a room, the door opened up to a staircase that went down. Matt ushered him down the stairs and closed the door behind them.

The stairs seemed to go on forever, and Justin started to worry when they didn’t seem to be getting any closer to any real destination, just going down flights and flights of stairs. They’d definitely come down more floors than they’d gone up to get to the building in the first place. 

At one point, Justin began to hear the thump of bass from music that was slightly too far away to hear. As they continued their descent, silent all the way, the music got louder and louder until it was almost too loud. They arrived at a large metal door with a sign on the front that Justin couldn’t read. He watched silently as Matt held his hand to a small black box that was attached to the wall. 

“Rip,” he said, shouting a little over the music, “I’m gonna go inside, the door’s gonna close, but I’m gonna wait for you on the other side. All you do is put your hand on the scanner. Your chip is still intact, it’ll recognize you and let you in. Okay?”

Justin nodded. This all felt very serious. “Got it.”

Matt smiled at him as he disappeared through the door. As it slid shut behind Matt, Justin put his hand on the black box and waited for it to tell the door to open. It was only a few seconds before he was inside the room with Matt, but it was a stressful few seconds. Being alone, unable to see in a strange, new place, it wasn’t Justin’s strong point. 

He followed Matt while taking in the surroundings. They were in a hazy, purple room, and there were person-like blobs hanging out on couches to the left. Justin couldn't tell if the haze was from his limited vision, or if the powerful, sweet smell was contributing to it. The music was still loud, but not as loud as it had been outside, which was puzzling, but not the thing at the forefront of Justin’s mind. 

As they walked through the room, Justin realized that they were in a club. This was made clear to him as Matt led him to a bar. 

Justin watched Matt tell the bartender something, and the bartender responded, shaking his head. Justin heard Matt say, “You tell him Ripper’s here,” and watched the bartender nod with understanding and hold up a finger, a signal to Matt to wait. 

A few moments later, a woman approached and gestured for them to follow her. 

The blobs became people as Justin got closer, following Matt and the woman through the club. He recognized a few as being from his species, and others he recognized from their walk through the city. 

The woman led them through a beaded curtain and down a short hallway. The music went quiet as they entered a dark room. 

The woman gestured to the room. “Make yourselves at home. My mate will be with you shortly.”

Matt nodded at her. “Thank you, Veina.”

She nodded back at him and left them. 

Justin looked around the room, at the pillows and table that were on the floor, and at the bowl full of exotic fruits in the center of the table. He followed suit as Matt took a seat at the table, resting on a large, fluffy pillow. 

“We are meeting up with an old friend,” Matt explained. “Veina’s mate, Vein. We used to contract for him. Odd jobs. I’m hoping he will be willing to help us out a little.”

“Are we optimistic?” Justin noted the posters on the wall, every bit as futuristic and awesome as video games had promised when he was a kid. There was a large pillow throne in the corner.

Matt grinned. “Very optimistic.”


End file.
